


Not All That Shines Is Gold

by WynterArlene



Series: What Goes On Behind The Words? [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Lance (Voltron), M/M, Nude Modeling, Nudity, Pining Keith (Voltron), Trans Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:06:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9674093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WynterArlene/pseuds/WynterArlene
Summary: Keith had been lying on the couch on his side with an arm on his hip and his other arm propping his head up as he stares at Lance with a deadly serious look, “Lance, draw me like one of your French girls.”//in which Keith agrees to be Lance's nude model





	

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't bother with editing tbh; this was written on a whim. When I finished I thought "holy moly i should totally write more for this" which I probably won't since that's asking me to open Pandora's Angsty Box. Granted, I do love having some angst...
> 
> I'll consider writing more, but right now I gotta get a move on since I remembered that my laptop is in a love-hate relationship with my wifi so I need to quickly get working on my online hw for my classes and suffer a whole lot after I quickly get to responding to comments and etc! :'D
> 
> The title was inspired as I was listening to Rachie's cover of [Telomere's First Cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXnMhfbNrH0), but that's pretty much it lmao, just the title.

Lance had always been a very expressive person, Keith knows that and he's used to it. He's seen the artist narrowing his eyes at his canvas with his art tools in hand, notes how he adorably sticks his tongue out at the corner of his lips with his brows knitted in deep concentration. There are times where he's animated, always waving his hands around as he converses with everyone, or how wide he grins when he's proud or how fond his smiles are.

Okay, so maybe it's clear to see that Keith finds Lance to be more than just attractive, but he's not gonna bother getting into that right now.

So it started on a Tuesday night where Keith lazily drapes himself over Lance's sofa as the brunet sets up his easel. Ever since Keith agreed to be Lance's model for his art class, they've had this routine of some sort. Tuesday evenings had been a silent agreement that they'd dedicate that time to doing their assignments together – Keith would be reading his textbooks and Lance would be focused on drawing. More often than not, Keith had found himself dozing off with how warm and comfortable Lance's apartment was, so not only were they both setting aside time to help each other with their work, but Keith would also have the chance to get a lot of sleep.

What concerns him, however, is that the moment Keith enters Lance's apartment at the usual Tuesday evening, Lance appears to be hesitant, embarrassed, and unsure. It's a better look than his feigned confidence or when he's afraid, but it's unsettling for Keith.

“Is something wrong?” Keith questions, placing his bag on the navy blue armchair.

“Nope, nothing's wrong,” Lance says quickly, and maybe it was just his imagination, but Lance might be blushing.

“If you're sure,” Keith lets go of the issue, knowing full well that if it concerns him, Lance will eventually bring it up if not today. However… “If you're sick, we can always reschedule-”

“No, I'm not sick,” Lance interrupts, placing his canvas down for a moment. “It's just… I kinda need a nude model for my assignments now,” he shrugs, trying to play it off as if he hadn't said anything ridiculous. “And I, well, I was wondering if you'd be cool with doing it?” he hesitates before waving his hands around animatedly. “But! If you're uncomfortable with that, then you really don't have to,” he rambles, avoiding eye contact. “I mean, of course, you'd probably be uncomfortable with taking your binder off and, well-”

Keith, frankly, had no idea what to think of this situation as he speaks up, “Lance, you're rambling,” he points out with some amusement despite the uncomfortable thought of going nude. It's not like he was going naked in front of a stranger, it was more or less the fact that it was going to be in front of _Lance_ , his crush.

He stops his tangent as he rubs the back of his neck nervously, “Sorry,” he sheepishly says. “I just don't want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“It's fine,” Keith reassures him. “I know you mean well, but you don't have to worry about me going topless. I actually already had surgery last year.”

Post-high school, Keith had top surgery thanks to the help of Allura's father who was a doctor. Not many people actually knew about it asides for his immediate group of friends which consisted of Allura, Pidge, and Shiro, at the time.

“Seriously?” Lance brightened at the new information. “That's awesome, man, congrats!”

It was odd to think that back in high school, Lance and Keith hardly spoke to one another. For Lance, Keith had been his rival and for Keith, Lance was just a cute classmate that always seemed to get along with everyone. When Keith came out as trans, Lance had actually helped to make that transition relatively easy with how he easily switched female to male pronouns, calling Keith by his preferred name. Keith never told him, but he was actually grateful that he actually made those adjustments despite claiming Keith to be his rival.

“Thanks,” he smiles, feeling relatively happy with Lance's words. Honestly, he was grateful for the firm reminder that Lance had always been supportive even before they became actual friends.

“No problem.”

They fall into a comfortable silence before questions and thoughts begin to swirl in Keith's mind. He knows that people often sexualize nude modelling, considering the fact that Lance always talks about how difficult life drawing is, often mentioning that he ran out of paint or something else, like charcoal. One of those experiences had been how Lance was sitting next to this one girl who almost ran out of charcoal and was on the verge of tears because she couldn't get the shading right. Sometimes Lance had ended up covered in charcoal and would be downright tired when they met up for lunch after his art classes.

It was safe to say that the whole nude modelling for a life drawing class wouldn't be as sexy as people assume – Lance and any other art student Keith knew could easily agree with that statement. Even though Keith did like Lance as more than just friends, that didn't exactly mean that he was interested in going further than holding hands or kissing, but that'll be a story for another time.

“So do I basically just… strip?” Keith asks, feeling unsure and hesitant as Lance whips his head around to stare at Keith with wide eyes. “What, is there a problem?” he frowns at the artist's reaction.

“I'm just surprised,” Lance sheepishly says. “I didn't actually think you'd accept? But uh,” he clears his throat. “Yeah, you basically just strip down,” he glances over to his canvas. “You can go change in my bathroom, there's a robe there that you can use before we get started.”

Keith nods, going with Lance's instructions as he heads off to get changed.

He was used to sleeping in his boxers on occasion, but being entirely naked was something he just wasn't used to. Initially, it feels… awkward, which is understandable. He's used to Lance staring at him while he's off doing his own thing, but it feels like a whole other situation without his clothes on. Lance also appears to be somewhat tense after a while, yet soon his stiff movements become more fluid as if he's forgotten that Keith is the one who's naked in his apartment's living room. It makes him relax to a certain extent despite the flutter of nerves that still remains. After he finishes with his assigned reading, Lance moves to grab a new canvas and some more paint.

“Mind changing your pose?” Lance requests as he switches the canvas out with a blank one. He snorts as Keith drapes himself over the couch, clearly amused.

Keith had been lying on the couch on his side with an arm on his hip and his other arm propping his head up as he stares at Lance with a deadly serious look, “Lance, draw me like one of your French girls.”

“Oh my god.”

Needless to say, all sense of professionalism gets thrown out the window as Lance doubles over and starts laughing. Keith soon follows suit with the laughter as he moves to sit in a more comfortable position.

The thing that Keith loves the most about Lance's genuine laugh is how it's incredibly infectious it can be. It makes the world feel brighter, makes him ignore the fluttering of his heart, and reminds him that yes, he doesn't mind that he's in too deep for this meme-loving nerd even though they're not actually together.

Needless to say, he's content even if Lance wasn't his boyfriend.

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a #relatable Tumblr post going around talking about how Nude Modeling isn't sexy (as an artist I can confirm; honestly all nude modeling does is help me grasp a better understanding of a person's anatomy), so I figured "yo i should write another klance fic even tho im suffering from college hell because i'd like some pining keith and relatable artsy stuff"
> 
> Talk French to me on **[Tumblr](http://wynter-of-flowers.tumblr.com/)** (actually, don't talk in French, I won't understand you cause I don't remember high school)


End file.
